Localizing spinal-cord-projecting neurons in neonatal and immature albino rats.

According to results from the horseradish peroxidase (HRP) method of tracing neuronal connections, the spinal cords of neonatal and immature rats receive a large number of descending projections from the first cervical cord segment, various brain-stem nuclei, and deep cerebellar and diencephalic nuclei. All these projections are present at birth, though at this age some of them are not fully established. Thus, only a few cells in the trigeminospinal, solitariospinal, tectospinal, and cerebellospinal groups were labeled after HRP injection in the lumbosacral or cervical cord segments in neonatal animals. They were clearly labeled in older, immature animals. The labeled neurons in other descending pathways appeared to be equal in density in neonatal, immature, and adult rats. This visual impression was stregthened by the counts of neurons in the interstitial nucleus of Cajal, which showed no significant difference in the number of labeled neurons in the three age groups. However, counts of labeled cells in the lateral vestibular nucleus and nucleus of the posterior commissure showed that there is a steady rise in the number of labeled neurons as the animals increase in age.